France's Butter Shortage Could Put the Beloved Croissant in Danger

A visit to France is not complete without sampling some of the country's delectable pastries, from brioche to pain au chocolat. But a butter shortage could pose a serious threat to the French food group.

According to The Local, the price of butter in France has skyrocketed, from €2,500 ($2,940) a metric ton in April 2016 to €7,000 ($8,240) over the summer. In response to the crisis, shop owners have been forced to cut back on hours and production. Claude Francois, owner of a small pastry producer, told The Local she reduced her staff's hours by 70 percent because there's not enough butter to maintain output. "We've been on rationed supplies since mid-August. We are only receiving a tonne a week when we need three tonnes... We cannot go on like this for much longer," she said.

The shortage—the worst since World War II—is a result of falling milk yields throughout Europe, but especially in France. And since most milk goes to making cream or cheese, and not butter, the effect is especially crippling. Additionally, Eater reported that powdered milk prices have dropped in France, meaning less of it is being produced—and butter production depends on the fats that are siphoned from powdered milk. Now, supermarket shelves across France are growing increasingly bare as butter becomes harder to obtain.

"At best, consumers are going to have to pay more [for pastries]," Matthieu Labbé of the French baking industry group Federation des Entrepreneurs de la Boulangerie, or FEB, told The Guardian. "At worst, we may no longer be able to get butter."

Fabian Castanier of the FEB echoed the same fears: "It's going to get worse. There's a real risk of butter running out."

With holiday season on the horizon, bakers worry traditional delicacies, such as Yule Logs, may be difficult to produce due to the shortage. Some French citizens have even taken to selling tartine—a baguette coated in butter—online, for the bargain price of €5 ($5.88). French newspaper Le Figaro recently published a guide to cooking without butter.

The FEB called the "alarming" price of butter a “major crisis" and called for bakers to "significantly increase" the prices of croissants, pies, and brioche to help address the issue—unpleasant news for locals and tourists. If margins aren't increased and more butter doesn't become available, the FEB warned that bakery production lines could very well shut down before year's end. Sacré bleu!

This article was originally published on June 15, 2017. It has been updated with new information.